1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to the field of devices for feeding and watering animals. More specifically, the invention involves a combination pet feeder and pet waterer assembly for victualing a pet over an extended period of time by supplying sub-portions of food and water from separate food and water reservoirs. The assembly includes automatic pet feeder components for distributing dried food, for protecting the food from moisture damage, and presenting sub-quantities of the food to a pet for consumption. Additionally, a pet watering dish contains a volume of water, which is shielded from contamination, and disburses the water in sub-volumes over time. The pet feeder and pet watering dish may be detachably connected as a single unit that resists overturning and conserves space.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A variety of pet watering and feeding dishes are commercially available; however, these devices typically lack the capacity for providing both food and water to a pet over an extended period of time. U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,256 to Clugston describes a unitary pet dish that serves as both a pet food and watering station. This dish includes a central water reservoir for supplying water to a drinking cup through an aperture. The interior reservoir contains a partition serving to dampen vibration-induced movement of water within the reservoir. The top of this dish includes a food-receiving cavity from which the pet may consume individual meals, but there is no mechanism for providing numerous successive meals in the absence of a consistent interactive human source of supply. Furthermore, in the event that this food receiving cavity is subjected to heavy compressional loading forces, the entire dish would tend to deform. From an external perspective, U.S. Pat. No. Des 254,454 depicts a device having an ornamental design similar to that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,192,256.
Pet feeding devices for distributing a supply of dried food are also known, but these commonly fail to provision a pet with water (as needed in addition to the food) and, further, numerous specific problems are associated with manufacturing and utilizing these feeders. These feeders typically have a main food reservoir from which portions of food are dispensed to a feeding trough for consumption. Food is poured into these feeders through a top inlet opening and a pet may eat by accessing the feeding trough from a side outlet opening. The respective top and side openings are commonly covered by very different lids that are not interchangeable.
The practice of designing feeders having noninterchangeable lids increases manufacturing expense and complexity by requiring additional tooling and by introducing operational difficulties in assembly. The feed inlet and outlet lids typically have substantially different constructions due to the differences in their functionality; i.e., the top food reservoir lid pivots outwardly away from its corresponding opening to allow the addition of food to the reservoir, while the feed trough lid is generally lighter and pivoted inwardly as the pet accesses the feeding trough. Accordingly, conventional designs have utilized different lids and lid mounting means at the respective openings. Furthermore, conventional designs may require the bolting or riveting of certain components, which also increases the cost of manufacture.
In use, prior feeding devices must typically be bolted or screwed to a wall or other structure, in order to prevent overturning of the devices by the pet, particularly if the pet is a large one. This necessity of bolting the feeders denies subsequent mobility, and converts the feeders into semi-permanent fixtures which may ultimately become an eyesore or other similar nuisance.